Treasures From God’s Word for the week of September 21-27, 2026

Theme: Jehovah Supports Those Who Support His Kingdom

When everything around us seems unstable, it is easy to feel pressure to take sides. People may be firmly convinced that a certain human solution is the right one and may expect us to think the same way. But Jehovah’s servants have a priority above all others: remaining loyal to his Kingdom.

Jeremiah lived at just such a time. Judah was divided, Jerusalem was under threat, and there were opposing views about what should be done. Jeremiah did not take the side of any of those factions. His responsibility was to convey faithfully what Jehovah said, even when the message was unpopular and others misunderstood his neutrality.

His experience teaches us that Jehovah can help us remain faithful when supporting his Kingdom makes us the target of criticism, suspicion, or even persecution.

The first point is that Jeremiah proclaimed an unpopular message during a time of political controversy in Judah.

Jeremiah 37:6-10

“Then Jehovah’s word came to Jeremiah the prophet: ‘This is what Jehovah, the God of Israel, says: “This is what you should say to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of me: ‘Look! Pharaoh’s army that is coming to help you will have to return to its own land, Egypt. And the Chaldeans will come back and fight against this city and capture it and burn it with fire.’ This is what Jehovah says: ‘Do not deceive yourselves by saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” because they will not go away. Even if you were to strike down the entire army of the Chaldeans fighting against you and only wounded men were left, they would rise up from their tents and burn this city with fire.’”’”

The situation was especially delicate. Judah was divided between those who wanted to submit to Babylon and those who wanted to rebel and rely on Egypt’s military support.

When the Egyptians advanced toward Jerusalem, many probably thought that the solution had finally arrived. The Babylonians withdrew temporarily, and that could have seemed to confirm that the political strategy had worked.

But through Jeremiah Jehovah said exactly the opposite. Egypt would withdraw, and the Babylonians would return. Jerusalem would fall.

Think how difficult it must have been to deliver that message. Jeremiah was surrounded by people excited about a human hope that he knew would not be fulfilled. But he did not alter Jehovah’s words to make them more acceptable.

Nor did he try to present an alternative political solution. His message was Jehovah’s message.

This is very valuable for us. In times of instability, people may speak with great passion about rulers, movements, conflicts, or possible human solutions. But Christians do not place their hope in any of those systems.

That does not mean we are indifferent to people’s suffering. On the contrary, we care deeply. That is precisely why we proclaim the only solution we know will permanently solve mankind’s problems: God’s Kingdom.

Maintaining that position can be difficult if those around us insist that we must take sides. Jeremiah’s example reminds us that our responsibility is not to say what people expect to hear but to remain faithful to Jehovah’s message.

However, that neutrality was misunderstood.

The second point is that Jeremiah was persecuted because some thought that he supported the opposing side.

Jeremiah 37:13-15

“But when he reached the Gate of Benjamin, the officer in charge of the guard, whose name was Irijah—the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah—seized Jeremiah the prophet and said: ‘You are deserting to the Chaldeans!’ ‘That is not true!’ Jeremiah said. ‘I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.’ But Irijah would not listen to him. He arrested Jeremiah and brought him in to the princes. The princes became very angry with Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, which had been made into a prison.”

Jeremiah clearly said: “I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” Yet they refused to listen to his explanation.

Why might he have seemed suspicious to them? Because by not supporting the rebellion against Babylon and by announcing that Jerusalem would fall, some interpreted his position as support for the enemy.

But that conclusion was false. Jeremiah was not on Babylon’s side. He was on Jehovah’s side.

This distinction is very important. Christian neutrality does not mean silently supporting one side. It means being part of neither side because our primary loyalty belongs to God’s Kingdom.

Even so, the princes accused him, beat him, and imprisoned him. Later they even managed to have him thrown into a muddy cistern where he could have died.

Did Jeremiah change his message to escape those problems? No.

He could have thought: “If I speak differently, perhaps they will stop seeing me as an enemy.” But he did not adulterate Jehovah’s words.

We too may be misunderstood. Someone may think that because we do not support a particular political cause, we must necessarily support the opposite one. Or we may be criticized because we do not take part in activities connected with conflicts or political movements.

In those circumstances, we can respectfully explain our position. But we do not need to change our convictions in order to avoid criticism.

Jeremiah teaches us that being neutral will not always prevent others from making false accusations. What matters is that Jehovah knows where our true loyalty lies.

Furthermore, Jeremiah did not face all of this alone.

The third point is that Jehovah supported Jeremiah while he was imprisoned.

Jeremiah 37:21

“So King Zedekiah ordered that Jeremiah be kept in custody in the Courtyard of the Guard, and every day he was given a round loaf of bread from the street of the bakers, until all the bread in the city was gone. And Jeremiah remained in the Courtyard of the Guard.”

It might seem like a small detail: every day Jeremiah received a loaf of bread.

But think about his circumstances. Jerusalem was under siege, and food was becoming increasingly scarce. Jeremiah was a prisoner and could not look for food himself. He depended entirely on other people, many of whom hated him.

Nevertheless, he received food each day “until all the bread in the city was gone.”

Jehovah did not immediately make the prison disappear. Nor did he end the siege of Jerusalem. But he made sure that Jeremiah had what he needed to keep going.

This is a precious lesson about how Jehovah can help us.

At times we may expect his help to mean removing a trial. But he may show his care in another way: by giving us what we need to endure it.

He may give us courage to answer calmly, brothers and sisters who encourage us, spiritual food at the right time, or strength to endure one more day.

Jeremiah trusted in Jehovah and found that his trust was well founded. He not only survived the period of famine and destruction. Other faithful servants, such as Baruch and Ebed-melech, also survived.

That leads us to this week’s question:

“How can the examples of Jeremiah and other faithful servants help me to support God’s Kingdom during times of political unrest?”

We can remember three things.

First, like Jeremiah, we do not need to adapt Jehovah’s message to what is popular. Our hope remains the Kingdom.

Second, if others misunderstand our neutrality, we should not feel compelled to take sides in order to prove anything. Jehovah knows whose side we are on: his.

And third, we can trust that Jehovah will care for us. He may not immediately remove every difficulty, but he will never abandon those who remain loyal.

When the world seems more divided and unstable, our determination can become even firmer: never allow anything to weaken our trust in God’s Kingdom.

Jeremiah endured accusations, beatings, and imprisonment, but he remained faithful and Jehovah sustained him. If we imitate his courage and neutrality, we too can see that Jehovah Supports Those Who Support His Kingdom.